She is close enough to me that I can see her, because even now there is the outward sign of visible light, even at night in this parking lot on the outskirts of Algoe. After we kiss, our foreheads touch as we stare at each other. Yes, I can see her almost perfectly in this cracked darkness.

He liked the idea of coffee quite a lot—a warm drink that gave you energy and had been for centuries associated with sophisticates and intellectuals. But coffee itself tasted to him like caffeinated stomach bile.

maybe she'd been scared of being paralyzed by fear again.

He let his mind wander. It went to a predictable place, and he missed her

Lonley, Vaguely pedophilic swing set seeks the butts of children.

Here's to all the places we went. And all the places we'll go. And here's to me, whispering again and again and again and again: iloveyou

It's total bullshit," he said. "The whole thing. Eighty percent survival rate and he's in the twenty percent? Bullshit. He was such a bright kid. It's bullshit. I hate it. But it was sure a privilege to love him, huh?